Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (Enhanced Edition)

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Enhanced Edition is a console-to-PC port of an arcade air combat game developed by Project Aces. You fly a roster that spans 25 fighter jets, three helicopters, two strategic bombers (the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit), and even the AC-130 Spectre gunship, across missions set in real-world locations: Miami, East Africa, Moscow, Dubai, Paris, Washington D.C. If you came in expecting a tight flight sim with free-form engagements and a deep progression loop, stop here and go look at something else. This is cinematic, arcade-first air combat, closer to the vehicular set pieces in a military FPS than anything with a HOTAS in it. The headline mechanic is the Close-Range Assault system, which splits into Dogfight Mode (DFM) for air-to-air and Air Strike Mode (ASM) for ground targets. DFM locks your camera onto a target jet, keeps it in frame through the chase, and adds a timed counter-maneuver when an enemy tries to shake you. It delivers some genuinely intense close-quarters visual moments, but the design forces you into it constantly since priority targets are flatly unkillable without it. What starts as a cool cinematic tool becomes a loop: close distance, pop DFM, fire missiles, next target. Repeat for the entire campaign. There are two control schemes, "Optimum" (assists handling, limits full rolls) and "Original" (full aircraft control), and veterans will want Original immediately. Keyboard and mouse has been flagged as under-optimized by multiple players; a gamepad or a proper flight stick is the more comfortable call, though the arcade physics make the stick feel slightly mismatched too. Multiplayer shipped with four modes: Capital Conquest (4v4 or 8v8, attack or defend an enemy HQ using all aircraft classes including bombers), Domination (base capture for points), Deathmatch, and Mission Co-Op (up to four players running campaign missions at higher difficulty). Capital Conquest is the most interesting of the bunch since it requires actual role differentiation between fighters, multiroles, attackers, and bombers. The problem, which reviewers flagged even shortly after launch, is that lobbies dried up fast. The online community for this game is essentially gone, which guts a meaningful chunk of what made the package interesting. If you are buying this for multiplayer in any current sense, adjust expectations accordingly. The PC Enhanced Edition includes all DLC aircraft and paint schemes that were sold separately on console, which is genuinely the right call. Graphical options are minimal though: resolution, fullscreen, VSync, and an on/off antialiasing toggle. There is no texture quality slider, no shadow control, nothing you would expect from a proper PC release. The terrain also draws criticism for low-res ground textures that sit awkwardly against decent cockpit detail and solid explosion effects. The campaign runs short by most estimates, and its story about NATO task forces hunting rogue Russian radicals is as generic as it sounds. The soundtrack from Keiki Kobayashi is a legitimate highlight, full of guitar and orchestral mix that punches above the rest of the production. For series veterans, Assault Horizon is the divisive outlier that ditched the fictional Strangereal setting and traded freeform aerial strategy for scripted set pieces. For newcomers to the genre, it is one of the more accessible entry points into arcade air combat on PC, even if the DFM loop wears thin before the credits. If you are looking for the best the series has to offer, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is the better-supported, better-designed option. Assault Horizon is a curiosity worth understanding before you commit.

Fred · Scout Team

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